Gulf Sales Spur the Rebirth of the F-15 Eagle Fighter

Orders from two Gulf nations—Saudi Arabia and Qatar—paved the way for the U.S. Air Force itself to begin buying the F-15 Eagle again after 20 years.

Aircraft EX1 – the USAF’s first F-15EX Eagle II – makes its delivery flight from the St Louis factory to Eglin AFB in March 2021. (Photo: U.S. Air Force)

By David Donald • Contributor - UK

November 9, 2021

Over the last two decades, the Boeing F-15 Eagle has seen a remarkable renaissance, despite the basic design dating back to the late 1960s. Deliveries of the fighter to the U.S. Air Force had ended in 2002 with the last F-15E Strike Eagle being handed over. Export derivatives of the F-15E were also delivered to Israel (F-15I) and Saudi Arabia (F-15S) in the 1990s.

For a while, that seemed to be the end of the line for Eagle development, but in the 2000s two Asian air arms selected modernized versions of the F-15E. South Korea selected the F-15K Slam Eagle for its heavy fighter requirement, while Singapore chose the F-15SG. Both versions had AAS-42 IRST (infrared search and track) sensors, new electronic warfare systems, and the ability to carry new weapons. Both of them also had a new powerplant in the form of the General Electric F110-GE-129 engine (although Korea’s second batch reverted to the Pratt & Whitney F100).

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